American Mikaela Shiffrin wins silver in Olympic Alpine combined
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United States' Mikaela Shiffrin competes in the women's combined downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Associated Press)
Just days after winning a gold medal in the giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin added a silver medal in the women’s Alpine combined event Thursday.
Shiffrin, a 22-year-old who was born in Colorado but also skied in the Northeast, was narrowly defeated Thursday by Michelle Gisin of Switzerland, who captured the gold in Alpine combined with an aggressive slalom run to beat Shiffrin.
Lindsey Vonn, the leader after the downhill portion, made a mistake early in the slalom and didn't finish in what was likely the final race of her Winter Games career.
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Lindsey Vonn competes in the women's combined downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Associated Press)
Shiffrin, who also captured the slalom title at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, seemed satisfied with the silver.
"It's a nice way to end the Olympics," Shiffrin said. "I started off with a bang and ending with a medal on the podium is really cool."
After crossing the finish line, Gisin celebrated with exuberance as Shiffrin clapped for her. Gisin was in third position after the downhill leg and had a 1.21-second advantage over Shiffrin.
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Mikaela Shiffrin reacts after winning silver in the women's combined at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Associated Press)
Gisin was able to hold off Shiffrin, who's one of the world's best slalom skiers. It shouldn't be a surprise, given that Gisin came up as a slalom racer and captured a silver medal in the combined at the world championships last February.
The combined was originally slated to be held Friday, but it was moved up a day due to the weather forecast of high wind. With the sun darting in and out and a light snow falling for the slalom, the artificial lights lining the course were switched on.
Lindsey Vonn smiles in the finish area of the women's combined downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Associated Press)
Down the road, Andre Myhrer of Sweden captured Olympic gold medal in men's slalom. Big favorite Marcel Hirscher didn't finish the first run as the Austrian great leaves these Olympics with two gold medals.
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The last race on the Alpine side will be Saturday with the team event making its Olympic debut. Many of the top racers such as Hirscher, Vonn and Shiffrin are planning to skip the race — and another chance at a medal — to prepare for the resumption of the World Cup schedule.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.